Sudden Meeting
by Un-Ended Tales Unravel
Summary: Their first meeting was quite sudden, but Arthur wouldn't have given it up for the world. He went back every Christmas season after that just to see her. This is the story of those many meetings.
1. Sudden Meeting

**Had this story going around in my head after I watched the movie so I thought I would write it down.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Arthur Christmas, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Sudden Meeting

After Arthur became the new Santa Claus he started to leave the pole more often. He would go out into the world to just see the children and what they did in their everyday lives. He wanted to see what really made them smile. Because it wasn't just the material gifts they got on that one special night every year but it was the people in their lives that lifted their hearts.

Arthur watched as the children played together, sharing the gifts he had delivered that year. He didn't just want to deliver the gifts then go back home just like that. He wanted to see their reactions, just like Gwen. That's why, every year, on the day after Christmas he would sneak out. It was a different place in the world every year.

This year's town didn't seem to be different then any other. He had chosen at random. There was snow on the ground and the children were out playing just like every other year. He watched as snowballs flew and the new sleds the children had received went shooting down the hills. Arthur wished he could be out there with them, but he could never convince Steve to go with him.

He was standing over the cover of some trees watching them laugh as they cut through the snow. He hadn't started growing his beard yet and the hair on the top of his head was still brown, not gray. Yet he still felt like he needed to stay out of sight and watch from the sidelines, but he would soon learn that it was all right to get out there and have fun with the rest of them. He didn't need to be cooped up back at the North Pole.

That's where he was the first time he saw her. The meeting was quite sudden and some would say painful. She came whizzing down the hill on her old wooden sleigh that she had gotten one year when she was very young when she asked Santa Claus for a surprise. One of her friends had pushed her without warning down the hill. In her surprise she didn't steer the sleigh very straight and ended up veering towards the trees.

Arthur didn't see her until it was too late. All he heard was an incoherent shout before her sled knocked him off his feet. He landed on the back of her sled as it kept going. Together they went screaming down the rest of the hill with snow spraying into their faces. A mound of snow sitting at the bottom of the hill was what finally stopped them. Arthur burst out of the snow, gasping.

"Sorry." A voice said beside him. She was a little less buried in the snow and she managed to pull herself out. She wore a long dark green coat with a red tuque pulled on over her brown hair that she had pulled back into a ponytail. Her long red and green striped scarf hung around her neck. "I didn't see you there." She apologized as she started to dig him out with her woolen mittens.

"That's alright. I wasn't looking either." When Arthur looked up the first thing he noticed were her eyes. They were a very attractive emerald green.

"Here." She stretched out her hand for him to take. He shook himself out of his daze and grabbed onto her hand. She pulled and managed to pull him out of the deep snow.

"Do you need help with your sled?" He asked, seeing that it was still lodged in the snow.

"Oh." She said, as if just noticing. "Yeah, thanks."

Together they dug it out without a scratch on it. "I swear that thing is indestructible." She commented. "I've had it ever since I was a kid." She was about the same age as Arthur.

"I love these old sleds." Arthur smiled at her.

"They're fun but I must say a little hard going down." She laughed.

"Jamie!" They heard someone yell. They turned to see a woman come running down the hill towards them. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Had a little bit of padding." She glanced over at Arthur.

"Good, because we have to go or we'll be late. The kids are waiting and you promised." The woman pointed out.

"Oh I almost forgot." She glanced down at her watch, remembering. "Sorry Florence."

"Come on." Florence tugged on her arm.

"Right, I'm coming." She looked back to Arthur. "It was nice meeting you…"

"Arthur." He stuck out his hand.

"Arthur." She shook his hand. "I'm Jamie."

"We're going to be late Jamie." Florence was more insistent.

"Maybe I'll see you later." Jamie said, hopefully. "Arthur."

"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"You should ask him to the dinner." Florence suggested.

"I've only just met him." Jamie whispered back, thinking Arthur couldn't hear.

"It'll be fun." Florence nudged her.

"Well…" She turned back to Arthur. "We're having this dinner tonight. Nothing too big, but it's sort of an end of the season kind of thing. One last boom before we take the decorations down."

"Sounds fun." Arthur smiled.

"Really?" Jamie's face lit up. "You'll come?"

"I'll try." He said.

"Come to this address." She quickly scribbled it down on a piece of paper. "It starts at six but you can come anywhere around that time, later if you like. Whatever works."

'Thanks." He took the paper from her.

"See you then." Then she was gone, Florence pulling her away across the snow.

Arthur looked down at the paper she had given him. It was the address of an orphanage not too far from the hill. He smiled. Why not? Though his family would probably start looking for him soon. He would have to tell him he would be out late.

He didn't know what, but there was something about Jamie that intrigued him. Something about her made his heart beat faster. He had never felt this way before and he wanted to know what it meant.

"Jamie." He said her name as he watched her disappear.

**Thanks for reading and please tell me what you think in a review. I would really appreciate it.**

**Hope you stick around for the next chapter. It will be fun.**

**See you next time.**


	2. Write to Me

**Sorry if this took a bit long. I'm not off for the holidays yet.**

**This is for the person who wrote the first review. I love your enthusiasm.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Arthur Christmas, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Write to Me

Arthur found the place easy enough. He was early so he found himself standing outside the purple door on the sidewalk for a while just staring at the door's paint. Snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Arthur had always liked watching the snow as it just started to fall. He wondered if it was the same with rain. He hadn't been caught in the rain so he didn't know.

The cold snow was his comfort. Warmer months were usually spent back at the Pole where there was much work needed to be done to prepare for the next Christmas. He needed to remind himself to take some time off and find a place where it was raining. Maybe Jamie could show him, but what was he thinking? He barely knew her. Yet he could not get her emerald eyes out of his head.

All he had to do was go up and knock on the door. Steve would disapprove. There was the fear of being compromised and having to go underground again like in 1816. But Arthur didn't look like Santa yet, at least not the figurehead version.

It was now or never. Carefully, Arthur made his way up the slippery stairs to the door. Being Arthur though, his feet found a way to slide across the ice just as he was about to knock on the door. At the same time someone chose that moment to open the door. Arthur fell forward. He heard a little yelp from the person at the door as he crashed into her, sending them both tumbling back into the house.

It seemed events were bound to repeat themselves when he looked down and found that the person he had crashed into was none other then Jamie herself. She took one look at him and started to laugh.

"We have to stop meeting like this." She grinned.

"Its very icy." Arthur pointed out as he got to his feet, extending his hand for her to take. She did.

"I was just going to check for mail and I found an Arthur instead." She giggled. "Glad you could make it." She popped her head out the door and checked the mailbox, finding a few letters inside. "They're from some of the kids' families who couldn't be around for Christmas."

"How was their Christmas?" Arthur asked, closing the door for her.

"It's always magical to watch them wake up to find gifts from Santa under the tree. He makes their Christmas special every year." Her words made Arthur blush. He tried to hide it by taking off his scarf.

"That's wonderful to hear." Being up at the North Pole you never really hear exactly what people think of your work. It was nice to hear it first hand.

"Here, I'll take that for you." She took his coat and scarf from him. He stuffed his mittens in one of the pockets.

"I like your sweater." She nodded towards the Christmas sweater he was wearing.

"Oh." Suddenly he felt a little self-conscious. "It's just…"

"No, I'm not kidding." She laughed. "I really do like it. Always wanted one like that. Christmas is my favorite time of year, especially when I get to spend it with the kids."

"Really?" Usually people thought his sweater was over doing it a little.

"Of course. Come on in. We're just about to start taking the decorations off the tree." She waved him to follow her.

"Taking the decorations off?" He followed her.

"It's always sad taking them off so we try to turn it around by making a special celebration of it." Jamie explained. "Just in here."

She opened a door to what looked like a living room. There was a medium sized tree on the other side of the room covered in mostly homemade decorations and there was a paper star on the top.

"Jamie!" Five little voices yelled as they scrambled towards her. They wrapped their little arms around her. Florence was there too, and she smiled when she saw Arthur.

"Hey kids. I wasn't even gone for five minutes." She ruffled their hair. "This is Arthur." She gestured towards him.

"Too bad all the mistletoe has already been taken down." Florence whispered to Jamie so Arthur couldn't hear. Jamie elbowed her, but blushed.

"Hello Arthur." A little boy came up to him and took his hand, leading him towards the tree.

"That's Andrew." Jamie introduced the boy. She turned back to the others and counted their heads. "Five. Where's Christopher?"

"He won't come down from his room." A girl said, pointing at the ceiling.

"Oh." Jamie followed the way the girl was pointing and sighed. "Thank you Claire. Arthur I'll be right back. You make yourself at home."

Arthur watched her walk out of the room with a question on his mind and curiosity in his heart. When the others weren't looking, he followed her. He knew how to walk up stairs without a sound. He followed the sound of voices down a hallway. One of them was Jamie's, and the other belonged to a young boy. He couldn't be more then ten years old. The boy was sitting on his bed staring out the window. Jamie sat down next to him.

"Christopher?" She placed her hand on his shoulder, but he did not respond. He just kept staring out the window. "Why don't you come downstairs? We're all waiting for you."

"Why would you want me there? They don't." He rested his chin on his knees that he had pulled up to his chest.

"Your aunt and uncle." Jamie worked it out.

"Not even a letter. They don't care." Christopher buried his face in his knees. "No one wants me around."

"Don't say that." She told him.

"We want you here." Arthur heard himself say as he stepped into the room. Jamie looked surprised to see him there, but also relieved.

"Who are you?" Christopher asked as he raised his head to look at the stranger.

"You can call me Arthur." He took another step in.

"Why would you want me?" The boy asked.

"Because you're Christopher Balltic." The name just floated into Arthur's head. "There is no other Christopher that we would want downstairs with us."

"Why me?"

"Why not you?" That was the obvious question.

"No one ever seems to acknowledge me." His eyes were downcast.

"We came all the way up here to get you." Arthur countered. "We can't start without you Christopher. Won't you please come with us? We need you."

"No one's ever needed me." Christopher spoke softly as if he wasn't really saying it to anyone at all. He had a look of surprise on his face.

"Your family needs you." Jamie's voice joined in.

"But I don't have a family. They don't want me."

"We're you're family Christopher." She said. "And we'll always want you."

Not another word needed to be said. Jamie stretched out her hand to Christopher and he willingly took it. She pulled him to his feet and led him downstairs to where everyone else was waiting. Arthur followed close behind.

"How did you know his last name?" Jamie whispered to Arthur.

"One of the kids told me." He lied.

"Christopher!" Claire came running over and took him by the hand, pulling him into the festivities.

"Sing White Christmas." Florence suggested.

"Oh, I couldn't." Jamie tried to back out.

"Come on. It will make the night." Florence insisted.

So Jamie stood and looked around at all the faces staring back at her. Arthur saw her gulp. She was nervous. Somehow that made Arthur like her even more. She wasn't the most confident person in the world, but she wasn't overly confident either. She was just right.

Her nervousness seemed to disappear when she started singing. She let the song take over. Arthur's mouth fell open. Her singing voice was beautiful. Not that her speaking voice wasn't. Slowly everyone else joined in the song, even Christopher. But Arthur could barely take his eyes off Jamie for the rest of the night.

They spent the night singing and telling stories, slowly taking the decorations off the tree. Florence sat down at the small piano they had and started to play. The children danced. Jamie pulled Arthur in.

"I'm not a very good dancer." He warned, but Jamie didn't care. He only stepped on her foot a couple times as they danced around the room.

The night came to an end far too quickly and soon it was time to go. The tree was bare with no more decorations to put away. Arthur had to get back to the North Pole before the others started to worry. In secret he had had another wooden sleigh built to be pulled by a couple of reindeer. It would get him back to the Pole fast. He had hidden it not too far away.

Jamie walked him to the door. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid I'm leaving for home tonight." Arthur told her.

"Oh." She sounded disappointed, but quickly lightened up as she grabbed a piece of paper and pen and scribbled something down. "Here." She said, handing him the paper. "Write to me? I'd like to stay in tough. I had fun tonight."

"You don't use email?" Arthur asked as he looked at the address written on the paper.

"I like the old fashion way." She admitted. "Do you like writing letters?"

"I love writing letters." He remembered every letter he wrote back to a child. It used to be his only job.

"Write to me then." She told him.

"I will." Arthur grasped the paper in his hand tightly.

"Maybe I'll see you again next year."

"Yes, I hope so."

In a split second decision, Jamie leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodbye Arthur. I look forward to your letters." Then she closed the door, leaving Arthur stunned. He was frozen for a moment as his cheek warmed where she had kissed him.

"Until next time, Jamie." He said to the air and finally managed to pull himself away and off towards the sleigh with the piece of paper still in his hand.

**Thanks for reading and please REVIEW! I love to hear from you.**

**Hope you keep following and see you next time.**


	3. Collision

**Can you ever forgive me for being so late with this chapter?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Arthur Christmas, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Collision

Christmas was coming around again in a few weeks. Everyone was rushing about trying to get everything done on time. Even with all the new technology there was still possibility of error, so everything had to be checked and double-checked. Arthur felt swamped. Everyone was coming and asking him questions about this or that, half of the things he had to send them to Steve because he had no idea. He was still trying to get a hold of this whole Santa thing.

Even with all of this rushing about there would always be those moments that would remind him why he loved being Santa. But right now he just needed a moment to himself to take a breather, maybe get some air. He did finally manage to slip away and found himself wandering into the familiar room where he had spent many a night writing letters to all the wonderful girls and boys around the world.

Arthur walked up to his old desk, letters still scattered all over it. He still liked to reply to some of the letters himself. Of course he couldn't reply to as many as he wanted to. He leaned forward and ran his hand across the letter lying freshly on the table. It had arrived just that morning and, as instructed, one of the elves brought it especially to this room, because it wasn't from any one of the children that he delivered presents to.

A smile danced across Arthur's face and all his stress seemed to disappear for a moment as he remembered how he felt when he had opened the letter and saw her handwriting scrawled on the paper. She didn't have the best of handwriting. They had joked back and forth about it several times. Arthur joked that he had had to get one of the elves to decipher her cryptic message. In turn she had said that his sparkly marker had nearly blinded her when she opened his last letter. She had written in capitals: OVERWHELMED WITH THEIR SPARKLINESS!

"Jamie." Arthur picked up her letter, his smile growing into a grin. He hadn't seen her since last Christmas, but her letters made the time seem shorter, making him feel like he really did know the girl who ran him over with a sled the year before. He could still picture her emerald green eyes.

Arthur rushed from the room, letter still in hand. He stopped only to change into his favorite Christmas sweater. He ran down the hallways, pushing open the doors and not caring to close them behind him. Then he swung open the doors to see his small sleigh. He hooked up a couple reindeer. This sleigh wasn't as heavy as the original _EVE_.

Without telling anyone, Arthur hopped into his sleigh and was off, flying away from the North Pole. He knew where he was going and it didn't take him long to get there. He landed and hid the sleigh, deciding to walk through the mall close by on his way, to see the Christmas decorations. In the middle of the mall was where the children all lined up to see Santa Clause. Arthur had always been a little jealous of those Santas.

Arthur was about to walk over to take a look when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He froze.

"Gotcha." A low voice said behind him. Arthur spun around.

"Steve!" He was shocked to see his brother standing before him.

"I knew you were going to do something like this." Steve glared. "This close to Christmas and you're still taking your little trips."

"I just needed some air." Arthur tried to laugh it off.

"Getting air doesn't mean you need to fly miles away just to get it." Steve huffed.

"What are you doing out here?" Arthur waved his arms.

"I guessed what you were up to so I hid in the back of your sleigh." Steve smirked.

"I was going to come right back." Arthur tried to explain. "I just needed a breather, to get away from all the stress."

"I don't believe you." Steve crossed his arms.

"Maybe I just needed to see a little Christmas spirit. Seeing how happy the holidays make people always gets me excited and it helps me work better." Arthur turned and pointed towards where the kids were lining up to see Santa Clause. "Just look at the smiles on their faces. That Santa is keeping their dreams alive, and even the elves…" He stopped mid sentence.

"Arthur?" Steve waved a hand in front of his brother's face but his eyes seemed to be fixed on something. He followed his gaze. Or maybe it was someone.

"It's her." Arthur finally managed to say.

"Are we looking at the brunette dressed as an elf?" Steve asked.

"Yes." His voice was quiet and his eyes were wide. Suddenly he pulled on his brother's arm and led him around a corner.

"What are you doing?" Steve had never seen Arthur act like this before.

"That's her." He said frantically. "The one I told you about."

"Sled girl?" Steve remembered last year when Arthur had come home acting all giddy. "That's her?" He had almost managed to catch a glimpse of her before Arthur had dragged him away.

"Yes." Arthur said in a hushed voice.

"If you like this girl why are we hiding?" Steve asked.

"Because…" Arthur tried to think of a logical response. "And who ever said I liked her?"

"Your face did." Steve pointed at his blushed cheeks. "Why don't you just go talk to her? You've been writing to her for a whole year."

"This is different." Arthur tried.

"Not good enough." Steve grabbed his brother by the shoulders and started to push him back to where they had been standing before.

"Steve!" Arthur struggled but his brother was still stronger then him.

"This is for your own good." Steve was almost enjoying this.

"Alright fine." Arthur managed to pull away. "I will talk to her." He dramatically turned around, but just as he was about to turn the corner someone else was turning it at the same time. They collided. Arthur fell backwards. He groaned and rubbed his head.

"Sorry." He tried to say when he saw whom he had run into. She had fallen back as well and was also rubbing her head. The bell on her hat jingled. They must have hit their heads together. Then she looked up and her emerald eyes met his.

"Arthur?" Her eyes widened.

"Jamie!" Arthur got to his feet and helped her up.

"Arthur!" She didn't wait another second as she jumped on Arthur, giving him a hug. He stumbled but didn't fall over, returning her embrace.

"It's been too long." He said, pulling away.

"Almost a year." She agreed. "I like your sweater."

"Thanks." He said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I like your elf costume."

"Thanks." Jamie grinned. She was wearing her long green coat over it now. "I was volunteering but I just finished."

"Must be fun." Arthur said.

"I love it." She nodded. "Its one of my highlights."

"I think I might be jealous." Arthur started to relax.

"I'd like to see you in an elf costume." Jamie laughed.

"You haven't changed, Jamie." Arthur smiled at her. She hadn't really. Her hair was still long and she wore it back in the same ponytail. She was still wearing the same long green coat.

"Neither have you." She told him. "How have you been?"

"Busy." He told the truth, well, most of it at least.

"Same." She nodded. "I'm just going back to the kids to get them ready for ice skating. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Oh, I'm just passing through." He shrugged. "I'm here with my bro…" He turned around but Steve was gone. "Well I was here with my brother but he seems to have disappeared."

"How long?" She asked.

"I have some time, but I can't stay long." Arthur told her.

"You should come ice skating with us." Jamie suggested with a smile.

"I really should be finding my brother." He said, looking around for Steve.

"Oh, well think about it." She wouldn't let that get her down. "The rink is really close to the orphanage, just a couple blocks away. Shouldn't be hard to find."

"I'll try." He said.

"You better." She grinned, starting to back away. "Well, I should go. I promised the kids I wouldn't be late. Hope I see you there."

"Me too." He waved to her. She waved back and disappeared into the crowd of rushing Christmas shoppers. Arthur turned around and found himself face to face with Steve.

"You idiot."

**Thanks for reading and please REVIEW! They have been wonderful so far. I love you guys.**

**Please send me any ideas you have of other scenarios in which they could meet. I am all ears.**

**Hope you keep following because the next chapter will be uploaded much sooner then this one was. Still very sorry for that.**

**See you next time.**


	4. A Night on the Ice

**How is that for faster then last time? I know, still not fast enough. Exams are coming up so I have to study.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Arthur Christmas, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it.**

A Night on the Ice

Arthur arrived at the frozen pond that Jamie had called a skating rink with a pair of skates that Steve had shoved into his hands. He was standing at the edge, watching as the children wobbled across the slippery ice. He saw young Andrew, now a year older go flying over the ice, letting out a yelp as his skates caught in a snow bank and he flipped over onto his back. Another girl skated over and giggled.

"Its not funny, Jane." He groaned.

"Oh, it is very funny." Jane helped him to his feet and they went to join the others.

There were six children: Andrew, Jane, Claire, Christopher, and the twins Owen and Charlie. Skating with them were Florence and…Jamie. She was wearing a red tuque with her usual green coat and she had wrapped and long blue scarf around her neck that was covered in little white snowmen.

She was holding the hands of one of the twins, Charlie, as she tried to teach him to skate. Jamie could skate quite well backwards. Then she let go of the boy's hands. He wobbled for a moment, sticking out his arms in front of him. Jamie extended her arms towards him, encouraging him to skate to her. The boy wavered and then pushed himself forward.

His twin brother, Owen, was skating not too far away, a natural at it, but he would keep looking towards his brother, watching his progress. He was looking forward to being able to skate with his brother.

Florence was holding Christopher's hand and he had a hold of Claire's. The three of them would skate really fast and then Claire would stop and let them pull her along. Florence and Christopher used their momentum to whip her out onto the ice. She let out a yelp, waving her arms to keep herself balanced before disappearing into a snow pile at the edge of the rink. Christopher skated over.

"Claire?" He called out her name, looking for her in the snow. There was no reply. "Claire?" Suddenly a hand burst from the snow, pelting Christopher with a snowball.

Claire emerged from the snow, laughing. Her laugh was cut short by a snowball. Thus began an epic snowball fight. Soon Andrew and Jane came over and got dragged into it as well. Florence watched from the sidelines before Andrew spotted her. She gasped as a snowball connected with her stomach. She laughed and chased Andrew across the ice with an especially large snowball.

Andrew grabbed Owen's hand, pulling him across the ice. As they passed his brother he caught hold of his arm and soon all three of them were skating from Florence, who had a devilish look in her eyes. Jamie laughed, watching them until her eyes landed on a certain someone standing at the edge of the ice putting his skates on.

"Arthur!" She waved to him across the ice, closing the space between them. "You made it."

"I did." Arthur grinned at her, getting to his feet with a slight wobble. He stepped onto the ice and his feet nearly came out from underneath him, but Jamie caught his arm. They skated together further onto the ice.

It was still light out, the sun hadn't started to go down yet. Jamie glanced over at Arthur with his goofy smile. It made her smile. She had stashed all of the letters he had sent her in a box that she had on her desk. Sometimes she would take one out and reread it, laughing and smiling at the same parts as when she first opened it. Jamie always looked forward to her letters from Arthur, writing back almost right away.

The two of them skated around the ice in silence, just enjoying holding the other person's hand. Jamie knew that Arthur would not be staying for long, but she was going to take all the time she could get.

They were interrupted when Christopher grabbed a chunk of snow, crafting it into a reasonably sized snowball. He aimed and fired, hitting his mark. Jamie retaliated within seconds. There was no escape for Christopher as a snowball from both Arthur and Jamie pelted him in the back as he tried to get away. It became a full out battle after that. There were no definite sides and was more of an everyone-for-themselves kind of battle. Alliances were built and destroyed over the course of half an hour.

Near the end Arthur had formed an alliance with young Christopher. They were standing back to back, fighting off Florence and Jamie. Not too far away there was a rally of snowballs going back and forth between Andrew and Jane verses the twins and Claire.

Jamie tried to go in for a close up shot at Arthur but he saw her just in time. He grabbed her arm with the snowball in it to stop her from throwing it. Just as this happened, Christopher lost his balanced, crashing into them. The two of them went tumbling into the snow. Arthur went down first and Jamie went down right on top of him in a great crash, sending snow flying.

Arthur shook his head and saw Jamie doing the same. She looked down at him. For a moment they seemed locked there, their eyes fixed on each other. Arthur felt himself getting lost in her emerald eyes, and Jamie looked at his eyes as if seeing them for the first time. The moment of connection seemed to last an eternity as they stared into each other's eyes.

Jamie broke first. Her cheeks flushed, she giggled slightly and then rolled off of him, lying on the snow beside him. Arthur felt himself gasp quietly as the weight of her on top of him disappeared. He looked over at her and she looked back at him. They both laughed. Arthur tried to cover up his gasping kind of laugh.

"Sorry." He said between laughs. "My laugh isn't exactly…"

"I like it." She smiled.

"Are you two going to stay down there forever?" Florence's face appeared above them. "The snowball fight has ended." She helped Jamie up first and then Arthur. They both wobbled as they tried to find their footing again on the ice. Arthur didn't see Florence wink at Jamie and then skate away.

"Come on." Jamie took Arthur's hand, leading him out onto the ice. The children were having a cool down, just skating quietly and slowly across the ice. The twins held hands, Charlie still unsure of his skating skills. The others skated a little ahead of them in a sort of line, weaving around each other. The twins were the youngest out of the six of them. The others were very close in age with Andrew being the eldest.

There was no music playing, but Jamie and Arthur swayed together. They faced each other, holding mitten-covered hands. Sometimes there's no need for music to dance. You just need the moment. They pushed off with their right feet and started spinning clockwise. They started to spin faster and faster. The world around them seemed to disappear and it was just the two of them skating on the ice as the sun started to set in the sky.

Jamie studied Arthur's face and engraved it in her memories. She would never forget how he looked in this moment. He would never forget her either. Their friendship had been an odd one. They had only ever spent maybe a day together if you put all of the time together. The rest of the year they had only communicated through letters, but that was enough for them. Even if they only saw each other one day every year that would be enough.

Arthur did hope that one day they would get longer. He almost opened his mouth to tell her why he was always so busy around Christmas, but then he closed his mouth again, not wanting to break the beautiful silence. How would she react anyway? She'd probably laugh and think he was kidding. It was hard to tell someone out of the blue that you were Santa Claus. Maybe one day he would tell her, but for now he would leave things the way they were. In this moment everything was perfect.

Arthur and Jamie span around, holding tightly to each other's hands as they started to pick up speed. Together they laughed. Eventually they managed to slow down and their spins covered less of the ice. Soon they were just standing hand in hand facing each other on the ice, not moving anywhere. Arthur never wanted to stop looking at her.

"Who's that?" Florence skated over to them, pointing towards the street where someone was standing by a tree.

"That would be my brother Steve." Arthur sighed, spotting him waiting. Steve would want to head back to the North Pole now.

"You have to go now, don't you?" Jamie could tell.

"Everything always gets so busy around Christmas." Arthur explained. "I can never stay in one place for very long. I'm sorry, Jamie."

"As long as you keep writing to me." She smiled, her hands slipping from his. "I know I'll see you again."

"Yeah." Arthur didn't want to leave, not yet.

"Be careful if you're traveling close to Christmas." Jamie warned. "They say there are signs of a blizzard."

"I'll be sure to remember that." Arthur smiled. "You be careful too, you and the others."

"Maybe next time you could spend Christmas with us." Florence put in.

"Maybe." Arthur wanted nothing else.

"Come back soon." Jamie took his hand one last time and their eyes connected.

"I'll be seeing you, Jamie." Before he could rethink what he was doing he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. She was silent, her cheeks growing pink. Arthur smiled and skated away, their hands staying together until he couldn't hold onto hers anymore and they were forced to let go.

"Until next time, Arthur." Jamie whispered as she watched Arthur disappear with his brother.

Neither of them knew it yet but they would be seeing each other sooner then either of them thought.

**Thanks for reading and please keep up the marvelously exquisite REVIEWS!**

**All suggestions are welcome. If I don't get any more ideas the story may only be a few more chapters.**

**Hope you keep following because the next chapter will be action filled, sort of.**

**See you next time.**


	5. Saving Christmas

**Well I think this is a decent sized chapter. Exams are making it harder for me to get time to just write. Very sorry for that. Still trying to update faster.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Arthur Christams, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Saving Christmas

Another Christmas and another long night, but Arthur wouldn't have it any other way. The trip they took every year around the world in just one night had always been long and tiring. If it weren't for all the elves Arthur wasn't sure if he'd be able to get to all of the children in time. Unfortunately with so many children to visit it wasn't possible for Arthur to deliver each present himself.

Even so each present was special and Arthur wanted it to be perfect for every girl and boy. The weeks before Christmas he always found himself going through the letters they had written, double-checking they had gotten their request right. Even just the small things made it all the more special, like the teddy bear needed to be orange and not brown.

So far the night had gone smoothly. The drops had been made quickly and neatly, not alerting anyone to their presence. Now the ship was making its way towards its final destination. They all needed to take extra precautions here with a blizzard going on, but Arthur wasn't going to let that stop them. There was one gift he just needed to deliver himself.

The elves suggested that he let them take the present. It might be faster and then they wouldn't have to stay too long in the blizzard, but Arthur refused. Not even a blizzard was going to stop him from putting the present under her Christmas tree. He had made it and wrapped it himself.

A small group of elves did insist on coming with him, but the winds were so strong that they were nearly blown away. In the end only a couple made it down to the roof. Arthur made his way through the thick snow towards the chimney, his red sack slung over his back. He tried to protect his eyes from the snow with his arm.

The snow was covering an icy patch on the roof so Arthur didn't see it. He stepped right on it and slipped. Arthur was thankful for the extra precautions they had taken. They were prepared for this with a rope tied around his waist and wrapped around the chimney by a couple of light-footed elves that managed to scurry across the roof expertly. Even with all of their skills they were almost blown off the roof by the snow.

The elves said it was madness, but Arthur didn't care. He had to do this, at least just this once. So he pulled himself up and pushed against the winds towards the chimney. But his fall had made a rather large bang, waking a certain someone who had fallen asleep in her armchair by accident as she read Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" for the hundredth time. She had meant to put the book down after a few more pages, but her eyes had grown heavy and she had slipped off to sleep.

The large bang from the roof had startled her awake, dropping the book. She looked up at the ceiling as if she might have x-ray vision and be able to see what had made the noise. She listened carefully and could almost make out the sound of footsteps making their way across the roof. Someone was on the roof.

A few ideas of who it could be flashed through her mind, but one thing was clear. There was someone on her roof and she was going to find out who. She pulled herself out of her comfortable chair and grabbed her coat from a hook by the door. Her scarf was wrapped extra times around her neck and she pulled her hat down so she could barely see. She slipped on her thickest mittens and her warmest boots, which were her only boots.

Once ready and wrapped up tight to protect herself from the cold, she ran over to the fireplace and looked up the chimney. She could totally fit; at least she hoped she would. It looked wide enough. There were footholds on either side of the chimney for people to climb up when it was being cleaned.

So, without another thought, she squeezed herself into the chimney and started to climb. Half way up she started to feel the cold of the blizzard raging outside.

Arthur had almost made it to the chimney, walking across the roof had been harder then he had anticipated. He hoped it was warmer inside the house where everyone was supposed to be sleeping. He was almost there when his pant leg got caught on a nail sticking up from the roof. Arthur tried to pull free but it wouldn't budge and he wasn't about to drop the bag of presents.

"Arthur?" The voice was muffled because of her scarf but Arthur still heard it through the snow. He looked towards the chimney and saw that someone had popped their head out of the chimney, staring at him. He almost didn't recognize her because of how wrapped up she was.

"Hello Jamie." He waved as if him being on her roof was nothing out of the ordinary.

"What are you doing up here?" She called.

"Delivering presents." Arthur couldn't think of any other excuse for why he was up here. "I may also be a little stuck." He gestured towards his pant leg.

"Hang on a sec." Jamie started to climb out of the chimney.

"No, that really isn't necessary." Arthur tried but Jamie didn't stop, either that or she just didn't hear him, he couldn't he sure.

Jamie planted her feet on the top of the roof, steadying herself with her hands stretched out on either side of her. She seemed to be performing some kind of balancing act as she made her way over to Arthur, wobbling to whole way like she was walking on a tightrope.

She seemed to be having an easier time walking across the roof then Arthur and the elves had. Before long she had reached Arthur and bent down to untangle the nail from Arthur's pant leg.

"Thanks." Arthur shouted over the wind as Jamie stood up straight again.

"No problem." Then she stopped, spotting the elves behind Arthur who seemed to be clinging to ropes that were hanging from some unseen aircraft.

"So I guess this is why you're always busy around Christmas." It wasn't the reaction Arthur was expecting for when she finally found out about him. She wasn't freaking out or thinking that he was crazy. She just accepted it right there and then. Arthur was Santa Claus. Of course that was logical.

"The kids are all asleep." She yelled, pointing at the roof and the rooms bellow it. "They're waiting for you."

"Good to hear they still believe." Arthur smiled. "We should probably get off the roof."

"Good idea." Jamie slowly started to turn around and make her way back to the chimney, Arthur following close behind, still clutching his bag.

Then Jamie stepped on a patch of ice and slipped. Arthur reached out for her but missed. She only had enough time to gasp before she disappeared over the edge of the roof.

"Jamie!" Arthur yelled. Without hesitating, he jumped off the roof after her. He had managed to wrap the string that held his sack full of presents shut around his wrist tight enough that he didn't have to hold it. The rope that attached him to the chimney caught him and Arthur caught Jamie by the hand.

For a moment they just hung there. Jamie's heart was beating almost out of her chest, but it still wasn't beating as much as Arthur's. He'd almost lost her and he didn't like that feeling. Jamie looked up at him, eyes wide.

"How close are you to the ground?" Arthur called down to her.

"Not too far." She looked down to check. "I'll be fine if you let go."

"You sure?" He didn't really want to let go of her.

"I'll be fine." She tried to reassure him with a smile.

"Okay." Arthur slowly loosened his grip on her hand. Jamie dropped and landed feet flat on the ground. She stumbled off balance and fell into the snow. Arthur heard her laugh. She looked up at him, still hanging off the roof, and gave him two thumbs up. She was fine.

"See you inside." She called up to him and took a set of keys from her coat pocket. Arthur sighed with relief as the elves started to pull him back up. They couldn't have done it with Jamie's additional weight but Arthur wasn't too hard by himself.

Arthur finally made it to the chimney and climbed down with the presents. When he came out through the fireplace Jamie was already there, waiting for him. Her hair was wet from the snow and she had already hung up all of her snow-covered clothes. She reached down and pulled Arthur out of the fireplace.

Jamie was wearing a Christmas green turtleneck with jeans and reindeer slippers. She smiled at Arthur as she pulled him up. The two of them placed the gifts from his red sack carefully under the tree. There was one for each of the children and even one for Florence. When Jamie wasn't looking, Arthur slipped her gift under the Christmas tree as well.

"Well I think we both had a part in saving Christmas this year." Jamie laughed. "Make sure you have a safe trip back, Santa Claus."

"I'll never get used to hearing that name after my father being called that for so long." Arthur laughed his wheezy laugh.

"I think you make a great Santa Claus." Jamie walked with him back over to the fireplace. "Can't wait to see the kids' faces when they come down and see the gifts under the tree."

"Wish I could be there." Arthur sighed.

"Wish you could too. Maybe one year, but you need to get back before the blizzard gets any worse." She nodded.

"Until next time." Arthur grinned and slipped into the fireplace.

"Arthur!" Jamie called him back. Arthur pocked his head out of the fireplace and before he knew what was happening Jamie had kissed him on the lips. He was startled for a moment, his cheeks going red.

"I couldn't let you leave without giving you your Christmas present." Her face was so close to his. He leaned forward and they kissed again.

"It's the perfect gift." He grinned. "Merry Christmas Jamie."

"Merry Christmas Arthur." She smiled.

The next morning the children ran down the stairs to find that Santa Claus had come and he had left presents under the tree for each one of them. Jamie loved watching them open their gifts and seeing the looks on their faces. She held a mug of hot tea, still warming up from her adventure on the roof.

Florence had put on a Santa Claus hat and was giving out the gifts. It was all the more special to watch because Jamie knew who had put them there. Once all the children had their presents, Florence came over and handed Jamie a box of her own. She didn't remember seeing Arthur slip it under the tree.

Jamie put down her cup of hot tea and unwrapped the gift. She lifted the lid and her face lit up. She reached in and pulled out her own goofy Christmas sweater, putting it on right away. There was a letter with it as well, but she would read that later. For now she just sat in her armchair enjoying Christmas in her new favorite sweater.

And it was the best Christmas ever.

**Thanks for reading and please tell me what you think with an awesome REVIEW! I'd really appreciate it. **

** Still open for more ideas and if you have any questions just put it in a review.**

**Hope you keep following because Arthur and Jamie can't stay apart for long.**

**See you next time.**


	6. Reckless

**And here it is, the last chapter. I'm sad to see it end but I have a lot of other projects to get to and school is starting up again. All good things must come to an end some time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Arthur Christmas, only my OCs and this storyline.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

Reckless

It had almost been a year since the last time Arthur had seen Jamie. He had wanted to go visit her at some other point during the year but had never gotten the chance to slip away. Now that Christmas was only a couple months away the North Pole had become a mad house of elves scurrying around, trying to tie the final bow on the present, the final touch to another great Christmas.

Arthur should have been excited like he usually was around this time of year, but there was something else on his mind. It had been a whole month since Arthur received Jamie's last letter. There hadn't been anything unusual about that letter. It was the usual catching up and joking around, but this was the longest Arthur had ever waited for one of her letters.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the small elf running towards him. To get his attention the elf had to tug on his pant led. Arthur shook his head and looked down to see the elf holding a letter out to him. He took it quickly, not forgetting to thank the elf.

Arthur opened the letter carefully, his eyes scanning over the words. He stopped. Then read the words again. Without any hesitation, he sped down to where he was keeping the small sleigh. As fast as he could he hooked up a couple reindeer, and before he knew it he was in the air, flying a course he knew by heart.

It wasn't long before he was landing in his usual hiding place. He tightened his green scarf around his neck and made his way through the snow towards the familiar house, only blocks away. He hopped up the steps to the door and knocked.

"Arthur!" He heard someone behind him, spinning around, and there she was. Jamie looked like she had been running, her breaths coming out in wheezing puffs.

"I got your letter a couple hours ago." Arthur hurried down the stairs towards her. "How long has Christopher been missing?"

"Since this morning." She panted. "I woke up and found him gone. He wasn't in his room. I've looked everywhere, Arthur."

"Don't worry, Jamie." He put a hand on her shoulder and tried a smile. "We'll find him. Where's everyone else?"

"I didn't want to tell you over a letter." Jamie lowered her eyes. "We found them homes, all the kids. They're with good families now, except Christopher. Claire was reluctant to leave him, but I promised her I would protect him. I can't break my promise."

"When did this happen?" Arthur asked.

"In the past month. That's why I haven't written lately. I had to see that they were all picked up and that they had everything they needed." Jamie explained. "Florence said it's time to be looking for another job. These are the last days for the orphanage, but it just didn't feel right to look for another job while Christopher was still here, and now he's run away."

"A month?" Arthur was surprised. It had all happened so fast. This place was Jamie's life and those kids had become like her family. It must have been hard to see them go, even if it was for the better. It would have been like loosing the North Pole for Arthur.

"I don't know where he could have gone." Jamie ran her hands through her messy hair, which she hadn't had time to put up into a ponytail before rushing out of the house to find Christopher.

"You know Christopher better then anyone." Arthur tried to reassure her. "Just take a deep breath and think about where he could have gone. He couldn't have gone far."

Jamie was trying to calm down, but she still looked like she was about to hyperventilate. It felt like all of her nightmares were coming to life all at once. She had a strong fear of failing. What if she had failed Christopher? What if she has failed to keep her promise to Claire?

"Jamie!" Arthur tried to shake her out of her mental breakdown. "Freaking out isn't going to help Christopher. Think of it this way, if you were Christopher where would you go if you just wanted to get away or be alone?"

"Oh my gosh." Jamie gasped, her eyes widening in realization.

"What?" Arthur asked urgently.

"The pond." She grabbed Arthur's wrist and pulled him along behind her as she sped off in the direction of the pond. "It was always his favorite place."

The two of them swiftly came to the pond. Their hearts pounded in their chests as the horrible possibilities ran through their heads. The pond wouldn't be frozen over completely yet so the ice would still be too thin to skate on. Arthur just hoped they weren't too late.

At first the ice looked empty, but then they spotted the small figure wobbling a little ways onto the ice. Arthur had to pull Jamie back before she went running across the ice, sure to go right through.

"Christopher!" She called out, fear in her eyes as her voice cracked.

The young boy looked over his shoulder at them, determined not to be caught, but wavering on his plan to go across the ice. No one would follow him that way. Why would they? Christopher had almost believed that no one would find him here, that no one would have been looking for him.

He recognized Arthur from the few times they had met. He still remembered the conversation he and Jamie had had with him in his room a couple years back. But that had been a long time ago. Those words couldn't still be true. Christopher tried to slide further across the ice, away from his pursuers.

"Christopher stop!" Jamie yelled. She and Arthur broke apart and went in different directions, sticking to the edge of the pond.

"Go away!" Christopher yelled back, not looking at them. "Stop following me!"

"Why did you run away?" Arthur asked.

"I didn't run away." He shouted. "I left. Why should you care?"

"Why did you leave?" Arthur tried again.

"I'm not stupid." Christopher was angry. "I knew what was going on. My home was going to be taken away from me and then I would be alone. So I thought why wait? I was going to be alone anyway."

"I wouldn't have let that happen." Jamie called out.

"The others are gone." He cried. "You were going to leave too, and find another job."

"I wasn't going to leave until I was sure you were safe, Christopher." She told him. "I couldn't do that to you."

"No one cares about me." Christopher put his mitten-covered hands over his ears, not wanting to listen. "No one's coming. I don't have a home anymore. I'm alone. One thing you learn from being an orphan is that no one ever comes for you."

"Don't say that, Christopher. Don't you ever say that." Jamie cried. "We're here for you. We've come for you and we will always come for you."

"I…" He looked over to where Jamie was standing. You could see the conflict going on inside him, but then the ice started to crack. Christopher froze and so did the others. Their wide eyes found the crack forming under the boy's feet.

"Christopher." Arthur spoke very slowly. "Listen to me very carefully. I want you to stand very still and don't move."

"I'm going to go through the ice." Christopher gasped.

"No, you're not." Arthur's voice was firm, but gentle. "I'm going to get you out. You're going to be fine. Trust me."

"I barely know you."

"True." Arthur took his first step onto the ice, placing his foot down very gingerly. "Which means that I could be capable of anything. I could be Santa Claus for all you know."

"You're too young to be Santa Claus." The conversation was starting to make Christopher relax as Arthur made his way towards him across the ice. Jamie watched them closely, not wanting to add any more weight to the ice.

"Am I?" Arthur went for a smirk. "I don't know why it's taking me so long to grow a beard." He glanced over at Jamie who gave him a thankful smile.

"I can feel the ice moving." Christopher's fears started to rise again.

"You have to be strong now, Christopher." Arthur spoke slowly. "Keep your eyes on me." Christopher slowly looked up to meet Arthur's eyes. Arthur tried to keep his uncertainties out of his eyes. "You're being very brave, Christopher." He moved closer, but then a cracking sound made him stop. Three pairs of eyes lowered to see another crack forming in the ice under Arthur's feet.

"Neither of you move." Jamie called to them.

"Christopher." Arthur looked back to the boy. "Take my hand. We're going to get through this." He took the boy's small hand in his. "Jamie! Am I right to guess you have a plan?"

"Not a well thought out plan, if that's what you were aiming for." She took a few steps back through the snow away from the edge of the pond.

"Jamie? Think about this." Arthur warned.

"I did." She smirked. "For about a minute." Then she ran towards the ice. When her boots met the slippery surface she went sliding across it, speeding right towards Christopher and Arthur. Arthur was starting to reevaluate Jamie's sanity when it came to situations like this. It was like last Christmas Eve on the roof. She was being reckless.

The funny thing about Jamie and her reckless plans was that they usually worked, and this was no exception. She was going fast enough across the ice that she didn't put too much weight on any part of it for too long, keeping it intact. She collided with Christopher and Arthur with such force that she pushed them the rest of the distance between them and the edge of the ice. They crumpled into a disheveled heap on the ground.

"I can't believe that actually worked." Jamie laughed.

"And yet you still did it." Arthur smiled. Christopher was breathing hard in his arms where he had landed on top of Arthur. "You're safe now." He tightened his grip on the boy comfortingly.

"Don't ever scare me like that again." Jamie tried to be angry, but she was too relieved to see Christopher safe and unharmed. "You will never need to be alone again, Christopher."

"What do you mean?" The boy looked up at her.

"I made the decision a few days ago and I've gotten the papers signed. I was going to tell you this morning." She smiled that familiar smile. "You'll be living with me. I'll be your official guardian."

"Really?" His face lit up.

"We are going to have to find a place to live though. We can't keep the orphanage." She admitted.

"Why don't you both come with me?" Arthur suggested.

"Really?" Now it was Jamie's turn to be surprised.

"Come on." Arthur got to his feet, helping the others up, and motioning for them to follow him.

Jamie slipped her arm through Arthur's, and Christopher took her free hand. They made their way to the spot where Arthur had hidden the sleigh.

"Jamie." Arthur leaned over and whispered in her ear so Christopher wouldn't hear.

"Yes." Jamie whispered back.

"I haven't even asked you the question yet." Arthur looked at her in surprise.

"The answer is still yes." She smirked, giving him a kiss. They rounded the corner to see the reindeer and the sled covered by a green sheet.

"Well, Mrs. Claus." Arthur grabbed the sheet and whipped it away to reveal the sleigh. Christopher's eyes were wide, in awe.

"To the North Pole it is."

**Thanks for reading and please REVIEW! I do love to hear from you all.**

**I hope you enjoyed the ending. Please tell me what you thought of it.**

**Until we meet again, my fair readers.**


End file.
